Sailors, Marines Receive Sea Pay Raise

U.S. sailors and Marines will receive a sea pay increase for the first time in more than a decade, Stars and Stripes reported.

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that the rise, which kicks in this summer, could mean additional sea pay of up to 25 percent.

The increase is pegged to the value of the dollar in 2001. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that you need $1.32 in 2013 to buy what $1 bought in 2001.

"Those sailors and Marines on sea duty, deployed away from home around the world, are the backbone of the Navy and Marine Corps and enable us to provide and maintain our global presence," Mabus said in a news release. "This increase is long overdue."

Also, sailors and Marines with more than 36 consecutive months in a sea billet are to have their incentive premium career pay boosted from $100 to $200 a month, depending on their rank and how much time they have been at sea.

About 100,000 sailors receive career sea pay with about 13,000 eligible for career sea pay premium. The Navy projects the tab will come to $66 million in additional annual spending.